In the immediate aftermath of Anthony Scaramucci’s firing from the White House 10 days after he was hired, the former Wall Street financier told the Huffington Post that he would be "going dark" until Labor Day, at which point he would "reemerge...as me." Then, he changed his strategy slightly, from complete and total silence to a media blitz with stops at all the major networks, starting with this morning’s interview on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, wherein he discussed how he would have advised Donald Trump to address the violence in Charlottesville and why Steve Bannon has got to go.

Of the president’s Saturday night statement from his Bedminister golf club that he condemns displays of "hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides," for which he has been harshly criticized by many members of his own party, Scaramucci told Stephanopoulos, "I wouldn’t have recommended that statement. I think he needed to be much harsher as it related to the white supremacists and the nature of that. I applaud General [H.R.] McMaster for calling it out for what it is. It's actually terrorism. Whether it's domestic or international terrorism, with the moral authority of the presidency, you have to call that stuff out." While some have suggested that the president has refused to condemn the white supremacists who descended on Charlottesville to protest the removal of a Confederate statue because he doesn’t want to alienate his base, the Mooch said Trump "likes doing the opposite of what the media thinks he’s going to do," and also that "[he’s] of the impression that there is hatred on all sides." Scaramucci said that although it’s important for the people surrounding the president "to be blunt with him," at issue is (one) The fact that "the president's going to do what he wants to do, how he wants to do it," and (two) a guy named Steve Bannon.

"You also [have] this sort of Bannon-bart influence in there, which I think is a snag on the president," Scaramucci told Stephanopoulos, creating a portmanteau of the senior adviser he told reporter Ryan Lizza"is trying to suck his own c*ck" and the alt-right website, Breitbart, that Bannon previously presided over. "If the president really wants to execute that legislative agenda that I think is so promising for the American people, the lower-middle class people and the middle class people, then he has to move away from that sort of Bannon-bart nonsense...The whole thing is nonsensical. It's not serving the president's interests. He's got to move more into the mainstream, he's got to be more into where the moderates are and the independents are, George, that love the president." (Incidentally, upon being hired as the White House communication director, Scaramucci announced he was deleting Tweets that did not reflect his "evolved views," including ones in support of gun control and abortion, a belief in climate change, and in opposition to a wall along the border and Islamaphobia.)

When pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether or not Bannon should be fired, Scaramucci demured before all but suggesting that yes, Bannon should be canned, possibly alluding to a Sunday report from Axios that Trump is concerned that Bannon has been a source on recent White House leaks.

Stephanopoulos: You have been tough on Steve Bannon, does he have to go?
Scaramucci: Well, I think the president knows what he's going to do with Steve Bannon.
Stephanopoulos: Which is what?
Scaramucci: Well, let's leave it up to the president. It's his decision. But I mean, at the end of the day, I think the president has a very good idea of who the leakers are inside the White House. The president has a very good idea of the people that are undermining his agenda that are serving their own interests.
Stephanopoulos: They include Steve Bannon?
Scaramucci: Well, yes. Look, I mean, we're not on a phone call, and a taped phone call. And so we're on live television, and so I would prefer to let the president make the decisions that the president needs to make.
[...]
Scaramucci: I think that there are elements inside of Washington, also inclusive in the White House, that are not necessarily abetting the president's interests or his agenda. I absolutely believe that, yes.
Stephanopoulos: Name names.
Scaramucci: Well, I named some names. And there has been some strategic changes. And my guess is there will be more strategic changes.

Later in the interview, when discussing the president‘s recent online tiff with Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, the Mooch likened Trump to "a football coach talking to one of the players on the team," saying that although "he can be a tough coach at times...Republicans should be very happy that he’s on their team because this guy’s a winner," a characterization he repeated during a Facebook Live Q&A that followed, at which time he also said that "the nasty stuff on [Breitbart] is disgusting" and the fact that people think it’s influencing the president by virtue of Bannon "sitting in the White House" may be "reason enough to make some changes."